Holiday News Roundup: Mardi Gras, Greece And John Glenn

An image captured on Feb. 20, 1962, by NASA shows astronaut John Glenn during his space flight in the Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft, weightless and traveling at 17,500 mph. The image was made by an automatic sequence motion picture camera.

NASA
/ AP

The Two-Way is formally off-duty for the Presidents' Day holiday. But not only does the news not take a holiday — often, holidays are the news. Here's a quick roundup of some of today's important and most-discussed stories:

Syria is reinforcing its military in what seems to be a bid to control Homs. (AP)

Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain are calling for the U.S. to arm the Syrian rebels. (The Hill)

An ESPN editor who was accused of making a racial slur against the NBA's Jeremy Lin — and who was fired this weekend — says his use of the word was an honest mistake. "I'm so sorry if I offended Jeremy," Anthony Federico tells The NY Daily News.

Europe is moving toward a second bailout of Greece, as the E.U.'s finance ministers meet Monday to discuss a possible $172 billion rescue. (Bloomberg)

It's Mardi Gras Eve (if we can use that term), which means Brazil's Carnival is running strong (The Independent) — and New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and other places that value good times are letting them roll. (NOLA.com)

John Glenn and NASA are celebrating the 50-year anniversary of his becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. (Scientific American)

Near Belgrade, the busy Danube River is finally thawing — and huge chunks of ice are wreaking havoc on boats and water-based businesses. (The BBC)

U.N. nuclear inspectors are in Iran to try to determine if the country is moving toward making a nuclear weapon. (AP)

Foxconn Technology announced over the weekend that its workers will get raises, and more favorable overtime rules. (NY Times)

And Elizabeth Smart, 24, the former kidnapping victim who got engaged just a month ago, got married in "a dream wedding in Hawaii," The Los Angeles Times reports.